Candlestick

ABSTRACT

A candlestick includes a tubular cartridge of biodegradable material having an upper end which forms a socket for a candle and a lower end, and a sleeve of flexible biodegradable material encircling the cartridge and extending appreciably above the upper end thereof. The sleeve is collapsible lengthwise towards the upper end of the cartridge so that when a candle is received the cartridge, the sleeve is gathered around the candle at the upper end of the cartridge forming a cuff or skirt which can catch any melted wax dripping from the candle.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 11/105,151, filed Apr.13, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,428, which is a continuation-in-partof Ser. No. 10/249,427, filed Apr. 8, 2003 now abandoned, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a candleholder or candlestick. It relates moreparticularly to a holder for supporting a miniature candle, i.e. abirthday candle, upright in a cake or other confection.

The usual candlestick comprises a rigid member having a lower end shapedto form a stable base and an upper end defining a socket for holding acandle. Such candlesticks are designed to be placed on a stationarysupport surface such as a table or desk.

Candlesticks for supporting miniature candles on a cake or otherconfection usually include a cup-shaped plastic base defining a socketfor receiving the lower end of the candle. The underside of the base isusually pointed enabling the candlestick be stuck into the top of a cakeor other confection so that the candle is supported in an uprightposition. These prior candlesticks for birthday candles are notparticularly convenient to use and they do not exclude the possibilityof hot wax from a lit candle dripping onto the confection. Also, theprior candlesticks used for this purpose being made of plastic are notenvironmentally friendly.

Utility model RU No. 19309 discloses a candlestick of the general typewith which we are concerned which has a full body, the upper part ofwhich is widened to catch hot wax dripping from the candle. Acandleholder is positioned inside the body and has a stepped form foraccommodating candles having various diameters. Although this knowncandlestick catches dripping wax, it is made of plastic or othernon-biodegradable material and is therefore not environmentallyfriendly. Moreover, that candlestick is difficult to place on a cake orother confection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved candlestick for supporting a small candle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a candlestick of this typewhich is disposable and therefore environmentally friendly.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a candlestick whichis easy to make and convenient to use.

Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appearhereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the following detailed description, and the scope of theinvention will be indicated in the claims.

Briefly, my candlestick comprises a relatively stiff, tubular,biodegradable cartridge and a sheet of highly flexible biodegradablesheet material snugly encircling the cartridge so that its edges overlapthereby forming a tube. Preferably, the lower end of the tube is evenwith the lower end of the cartridge and the tube is appreciably longerthan the cartridge so that the tube extends well beyond the cartridge.Preferably also, the inside diameter of the cartridge is the same as oronly slightly larger than the diameter of a typical birthday candle sothat it forms a ring or socket for snugly receiving a lower end segmentof the candle.

In use, a candle is inserted into the upper end of the tube until thelower end of the candle is plugged into the upper end of the cartridge.Then, the segment of the tube extending above the cartridge is slid downtoward the cartridge so that it is gathered around the candle at theupper end of the cartridge thereby forming a larger diameter cuff orskirt around the base of the candle which can catch any melted waxrunning down the candle when the candle is lit.

The lower end of the cartridge may be pinched together to facilitatestaking the cartridge in a cake or other confection so that the candleis supported in an upright position thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention,reference should be made to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view with parts broken away illustrating acandlestick incorporating the invention for supporting a candle;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing the candlestick actuallysupporting the candle and with the candlestick's sleeve in an extendedposition;

FIG. 3 is a similar view of the candlestick showing its sleeve in acollapsed position;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view with parts broken away, on amuch larger scale, illustrating another collapsible sleeve embodimentfor the FIG. 1 candlestick, and

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a fragmentary side elevational view with parts insection and a top plan view of yet another collapsible sleeve embodimentshowing the sleeve in its extended and collapsed positions,respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, my candlestick comprises a tubular,open-ended cartridge 12 having an upper end 12 a and a lower end 12 b.Preferably, cartridge 12 is formed of a stiff paper or cardboard. Theinside diameter of cartridge 12 is more or less the same of that of astandard candle C of a type commonly placed on birthday cakes or otherconfections. Thus the upper end 12 a of cartridge 12 forms a socket orring for snugly engaging around the base of candle C so that the candleextends up vertically from cartridge 12.

Snugly encircling cartridge 12 is a tubular sleeve 14 of very flexiblesheet material such as tissue paper, cigarette paper, thin parchment orthe like. A sheet of that material may be engaged around cartridge 12with the edges of that sheet overlapping and being secured togetheralong a seam 15 as shown in FIG. 1. The fit of the tube around thecartridge is tight enough to prevent relative movement of those twoparts. Preferably sleeve 14 is appreciably longer than cartridge 12 sothat its upper end 14 a extends well above the upper end 12 a ofcartridge 12 when the lower ends 12 b, 14 b of the cartridge and sleeveare even as shown. Preferably, the sleeve is about twice as long as thecartridge.

In use, the candle C is coupled to the candlestick 10 by inserting thelower end of the candle into sleeve 14 until that lower end plugs intothe upper end 12 a of cartridge 12 so that the candle is an extension ofthe cartridge as shown in FIG. 2.

Then, a downward force F is applied to the upper end 14 a of sleeve 14as shown in FIG. 2 which causes that segment of the sleeve to slide downaround the candle and become gathered around the candle at the upper endof cartridge 12 thereby forming an enlarged cuff or skirt 16 whichextends all around the candle as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thematerial of sleeve 14 is flexible and extensible enough to enable theformation of the radially enlarged corrugations or wrinkles that formthe cuff or skirt 16. Thus, when the candle is lit forming a flame Fwhich melts the top of the candle, any hot wax W running down ordripping from the candle is intercepted by the cuff or skirt 16 at alocation above cartridge 12.

As shown in FIG. 3 the lower end 12 b, 14 b of the candlestick may bepinched to from an edge or point 18 so that that end may easilypenetrate the surface S of a confection such as a cake, scoop of icecream or the like.

If desired, the sleeve 14 may be formed with circumferentialcorrugations or score or fold lines to facilitate the collapsing of thetube in bellows-like fashion to form the cuff or skirt 16. FIG. 5illustrates such a sleeve 14′ having in and out fold lines 22 a and 22b.

Also, to provide a larger diameter cuff or skirt 16, the sleeve may beslitted lengthwise. FIGS. 6A and 6B show a sleeve 14″ having two sets ofslits 24 a and 24 b which are offset circumferentially. When the sleeveis collapsed, the material between the slits bows out to form two setsof tabs 26 a and 26 b which are offset so as to form a substantiallycontinuous skirt around the base of the candle.

Since the cartridge 12 and sleeve 14 are both made of paper or similarbiodegradable material, the candlestick will not persist and istherefore environmentally friendly. Also being composed of simple partswhich may be made using conventional tube making machinery, thecandlestick is easy and inexpensive to manufacture. By the same token,it is quite easy to use and therefore should prove to be a verymarketable item.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above among those madeapparent from the preceding description are efficiently attained. Also,since certain changes may be made in carrying out the above method andin the constructions set forth without departing from the scope of theinvention, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription as shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the inventiondescribed herein.

1. A candlestick comprising a cylindrical tubular cartridge ofbiodegradable material having an upper end which forms a socket or ringfor a candle and a lower end, and a collapsible cylindrical sleeve offlexible biodegradable material tightly encircling the cartridge andextending appreciably above the upper end thereof, said sleeve havingedges overlapping and secured together to form a longitudinal seam whichmaintains the cylindrical shape of the sleeve along the entire lengththereof, said sleeve being collapsible lengthwise towards said upper endof the cartridge so that when a candle is received in the cartridge, thesleeve is gathered around the candle adjacent the upper end of thecartridge to form a radially enlarged cuff or skirt which can catch anymelted wax dripping from the candle.
 2. The candlestick defined in claim1 wherein the sleeve is in the order of twice as long as the cartridge.3. The candlestick defined in claim 1 wherein the cartridge is ofcardboard and the sleeve is of tissue or cigarette paper.
 4. Thecandlestick defined in claim 1 wherein the skirt is creased orcorrugated circumferentially to facilitate its being gathered to formsaid cuff or skirt.
 5. The candlestick defined in claim 1 wherein thesleeve has circumferential fold lines to facilitate the collapsethereof.
 6. The candlestick defined in claim 1 wherein the sleeve haslengthwise slits to facilitate the collapse thereof.
 7. A candlestickcomprising a collapsible cylindrical sleeve of a highly flexiblebiodegradable sheet material having edges overlapping and securedtogether to form a longitudinal seam which extends the entire length ofthe sleeve, and a relatively rigid biodegradable tube having an upperend secured to an end segment of the sleeve so that the sleeve extendsappreciably beyond the upper end of the tube, said sleeve havingcorrugations and being collapsible lengthwise to form a radiallyenlarged circular cuff adjacent to the upper end of the tube.
 8. Thecandlestick defined in claim 8 wherein the tube is of heavy paper andthe sleeve is of thin tissue or cigarette paper.
 9. The candlestickdefined in claim 8 wherein the sleeve is about twice as long as thetube.